Dark Sin, Bright Intentions
by DarkestVampire
Summary: When Sawyer is set up to be Balalaika s next reason to wage war, everyone takes cover to try not to get involved. Except for Rock, who might either end up looseing more than his life or earning more than just Sawyer's heart. Written for the BL challange.
1. Chapter 1

**Hello there, folks, Darkest Vampire here with the first fanfic written for the Black Lagoon Fanfic challenge from Lazy Eyes Conway**. **Safe to say i`ve never written a Sawyer x Rock story before nor some mystery-thriller-crime-ish story, but i`d be damned not to try once, right?**

**As of now, i have no idea how long this story might end up as or how its going to turn out, but it being Black Lagoon, the M rateing is justified by the swearing, the blood, the adult themes and drug abuse etc. If they hit it off, they aren´t going to stop with just a few kisses either.**

**As a final note, suggestions are welcome, if they aren´t grammar related. I know i can´t type for shit, so.. don´t rub it in, okay?**

**Now, enjoy, and if you liked it, review please.  
**

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It wasn`t hard to figure out that she was single. One just had to take a single look at her and it was obvious. Not because of her body. She was pretty, with her black curly hair and her sleek figure, cute even, being petite and almost childish looking, but then there were her eyes. Those deep, sunken in eyes that seemed to be made out of compressed hatred for the flesh of the living. And then there was the fact that she was mute.

Not entirely mute, but her voice strings were so badly damaged that her voice was too quiet for human ears to hear. The voice amplifier she always carried around helped, but it only further alienated her appearance with that robotic voiceover the machine provided.

One could overlook the childish looks, the gothic outfits she liked to wear and even the eyes that gave an impression of hell for some, but the voiceover was the final nail to any relationship`s coffin.

Sawyer, the Cleaner, was doomed to be alone for the rest of her life.

„Yo, Rocky boy. Dutch`s got somethin for ya to do." Revy`s pat on the shoulder suprised Rock, who was just reading a horror novel which took place in Venezuela. He knew he should`ve never picked up that book after he`d seen the eyes of the femme fatale that cleared out the streets of Roanapur not once, but twice and just happened to live in Venezuela herself... Roberta`s killer eyes had him scared for an enternity and beyond.

„Jesus, Revy, don´t scare me like that." Rock sighed and put the book away, trying to calm his shakeing hands and limb knees by takeing a break. „What does he want?"

„I dunno, he didn`t tell me. Just said it´d be better if you`d handle it. As if i wasn´t good enough for him anymore." Revy`s hinted jealousy made him smirk.

„I told you more than once, sometimes you gotta solve a problem with diplomatics, not with ballistics." Finally, he got up from the couch and stretched his limbs, then giving Revy a short wave and a brief „Later" before heading out towards Dutch`s office.

An „office" it was not, more like an addition to his own room, but at least they stored the few files about the jobs they did there and the booking was done in this place. Rock had been there several times now, the stench of his own cigarettes was slowly overshadowing Dutch`s favorite brand. Not that it would matter much, the entire building smelled of cigarettes, beer and gunsmoke.

„Ah, there you are. Seems as if Revy was quick to carry out commands this time." The afro american was hanging out, leaning back in the chair with his legs on the desk, his boots crimpleing some paperwork that was still lieing on there. He didn`t seem that relaxed though, Rock could tell by the tensed look on his face. Something was up.

„Give her a break though.. she could`ve been a little slower this time around. Whats up?"

„Something big, Rock. Both Balalaika and Chang are takeing aim at the goth-girl from the cleaning company, you know, the chainsaw massacre chick."

„Sawyer." Rock corrected, yet looking suprised. The Triads and Hotel Moscow rarely worked together unless there was such extreme measures to be taken that threatened both organizations alike.

„Yeah, well, word`s going around she iced some of thier men. Both chinese and russian. Ususally the cleaning company is discrete about thier clients, but something must`ve leaked through... and they`re not exactly happy about that." Dutch`s features were still hard and focused, as if this wasn`t the end of the story.

„Yeah, if someone kills one of thier men, thier entire family gets whiped out as vendetta."

„You betcha. Safe to say this Sawyer girl doesn´t have a family, but either way, her friend Rotton gave us a call about that. He doesn´t wanna have anything to do with it, seeing how he´s familliar with Roanapur, but Sawyer can`t use the phone by herself. Asked if we could do something about it."

„Can we?" Rock asked, looking at a suprised Dutch. „Well, its not like we`re a criminal investigation squad or something that could proove her not guilty."

„Nah, thats not what they`re asking us to do, Rock." Dutch replied, pulling out a cigarette. „They want us to get Sawyer outta the line of fire... or even calm down the organizations."

„Ah, i get it. Thats why you don´t want Revy for that." Rock said, starting to get thinking. „She would just blow a hole into everyone that tried to harm her and make things even worse."

„Bingo. And Benny isn´t much of a fighter as well as being a crappy diplomat. The only one of us that could do anything is you... if you`re up for it."

„Whats the catch?" Rock said, jokeingly, but not even smirking about it afterwards.

„The only one i can think of is that we haven`t talked about the reward." Dutch replied, sucking on his cig. „Its all written in the stars so far. The odds of sucess are incredibly low and Sawyer isn´t a multi billionaire, so there´s no chance we`ll get a decent payoff for the risk we take. But hey, putting your life on the line to save others who look innocent used to be your thing, didn`t it?"

Rock`s face was cold and plain, but he nodded. „Yeah... it brought nothing but death and grief. But whatever. I´ll do it... nobody should feel the wrath of both these crazy warmongers... not after i´ve seen what happened to Gretel."

„You`re too kind for your own good, Rock. It might get you killed one day." Dutch shrugged, but smirked. „And thats how we roll in Roanapur."

„Hang on, Rock." Revy said, trying to stop him from simply grabbing his jacket and leaveing. „Haven`t you learned anything from previous deaths? Don`t interfere in stuff like that."

Rock sighed, then turned around, trying to look harsh. „Its different this time. This time its my job to interfere, and i´d be damned not to do that if i actually get a reward for risking my life this time."

„Your life and the one of everyone around you, dipshit. You think i´d like getting shot down from the Triads or butchered by Hotel Moscow?"

„They wouldn`t shoot you. They know what you´re worth for."

„...Ugh, you`re giving me a fucking headache, you know that? Fine then, kill yourself. Have fun." Revy rolled her eyes, but then reached into her pocket and handed Rock a pistol with two spare magazines. „But if you do, give them a fight, will you?"

„You know i hate guns, Revy. I can fight better with words than with lead."

„Yeah, but words aren`t gonna stop the Vysnotiki from snipeing you. If you´re gonna protect that bitch, protect yourself as well. I`m not asking you to go around killing people, Rock, but i feel safer if you have a piece on your ass while you walk through Vietnam."

„Its not like you to be worried about me, Revy."

„Then get used to it."

Revy turned around after he took the weapon, only briefly waveing him off. „Don`t go dieing on me, you son of a bitch, or i`m gonna follow you to hell and bring you back. And that isn´t gonna be pretty."

Rock smirked a little before he put the pistol into his jacket. It looked like a mini-Cutlass, he thought, but then again, it practically was one, a Beretta M92, without all the modifications that made Revy`s ones unique. Funny, she told him once that Chang preached her that Berettas were the most reliable, accurate and styleish pistols there were in the world... and if things went bad, he would use one against Chang himself.

He prayed that he would never need to pull that trigger.

A short drive with the rusty old caddilac of the Lagoon company brought him to the apartment building in which Sawyer lived with her two friends, or at least, she used to be. He didn´t need the room number, it was the only room in which there was stilllight on even though it was past midnight. The gunshots, screams and sirens that gave a terrifieing orchestra the city was so known for completed the image of a cheap horror film he found himself in, and Sawyer, the girl with the chain saw, would be the main actress, the killer with the scissorhands.

Rock tried to get those thoughts out of his head, they would only distract him from the important buisness he was here for. He gave the room a short ring via the doorbell, then opened the front door as it had been busted open years ago.

Going up the steps, the sweat on his back increased, and he felt his hands nervously shakeing from the pressure. Was it a setup? It was possible, and this time, there wasn´t anyone there to protect him.

However, when he finally had the guts to enter the apartment, he only found Sawyer herself there. No sign of Shehuna or Rotton.

„...Where is everybody?" He asked to himself as he almost didn`t see Sawyer, who hid behind a couch.

„Shehuna and Rotton left for good." Her mechanical voice startled him, causeing him to turn around and look behind the couch, directly into her eyes. „Oh, there you are."

„They.. jumped the shark so that they don´t get involved in the war." Her voice sounded emotionless through the voice modulator she wore on a collar, but her faceial expression told him that she wasn´t so happy about that. It was likely though, everyone in Roanapur ducked for cover when trouble rose up.

„Don´t worry. I´ll get you out of there." Rock said, feeling a little pity for the girl who just got dumped by the bounty hunters. „I don´t know how yet, but i`ll find a way."

„Thank you, Mister Rock." Sawyer bowed down with her hands on her knees, makeing him think that she was japanese, but she looked nothing like an asian girl.

The odds were, she was just wierd.

And he would have to deal with that.

End of chapter 1


	2. Chapter 2

**Hi there, folks.*crickets***

**So yeah, second chapter of Dark Sin Bright Intentions. Not much to say, really. I was more relaxed and less rushed when i came up with this one, so the quality may differ. I´ve also planned ahead and decided the story should have five chapters, each one about as long as these to keep it fluid. I`m also trying to get this challange done and over with, seeing how i suck at continueing stories i leave resting for a while, even worse than i suck at grammar.  
**

**Regardless, enjoy the second chapter!**

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"Ugh, so, lets look at our options.. we could get you out of the country, thats probably the easiest method, although thats still hard considering the internationality of Hotel Moscow." Rock said, sitting down on the couch to think. „The last time we tried to smuggle the top wanted enemy of Balalaika, she arrived in safety only to get shot in the back of the head.. hm, then there`s the possibility of getting you a new identity, but thats going to cost a fortune..."

Rock´s head just didn´t want to work today. Whatever he was getting stupid from drinking with Revy or just being tired, he couldn´t tell, but he just couldn`t come up with a good plan from the back of his head.

„We could slaughter the lot." Sawyer remarked, looking rather innocent up to him with her hands in her lap. Rock shuddered in return.

„Lets keep it real here.. i don´t think we stand a chance like THAT.. I guess the first thing we have to do is to get you out of this apartment and somewhere else, before they find out your adress. I`m suprised they haven´t been here by now."

„We haven`t told anybody but you where we live."

Rock shook his head after she told him that. „Thats not the issue. They probably tapped out phone line years ago. Something's holding them back so far... i hope it lasts longer than just this brief moment. Regardless, you should probably pack your stuff and get ready to leave, better to be safe than sorry."

Sawyer nodded, standing up again and heading upstairs to her room, giving Rock some more time to think. Why did they start this? Because Sawyer killed some of thier men. But Sawyer only does contract work, they should know that..

Suddenly it clicked in the back of his head. „Of course... They don´t want to kill her right away, they want her to spill the beans..."

Instantly, a varity of options came to his mind, survailliance equipment could be everywhere in the room, a sniper outside maybe, or even...

„Shit..!" Rock jumped up, heading towards the stairs. What if there was someone already waiting on the top floor, waiting to kill or kidnap her when he didn´t see it? That was a foolish, amateur move to let her go like that. He cursed himself and promised that if she was alright, that would never happen again.

Clentching the grip of his gun, he pushed open the door to the room she went to...

...and sighed in relief. Sawyer looked at him like he was an alien, then shrugged and continued to take down the crosses and crucifixes that plastered her walls, all bagging them in various cases, trollys and luggage.

„...What the hell do you need all those for?" He dared to ask, trying to calm down from his panic attack just now.

„They give my room an aura of holyness and decrease the pervertedness that takes place in this house. Also they make me feel loved."

Rock was caught off guard by that answer. „...what?"

„I focus myself on praying to various gods whenever Shehuna and Rotton get it on because it takes so long all the time."

„...Okay. I was wondering why those two left together.." Funny enough, she didn´t seem to pack that many clothes, only three or four sets, the rest were crosses, books of the occult and spare parts for her beloved chainsaw. That alone managed to fill three trunks and a trolly cart.

„Well, if you´re finished, lets bring that to the car and think about where we go from there.." Rock suggested, trying to lift one of her trunks, which he barely managed to do. It wasn´t even the one with the chainsaw parts, just the steel, brass and silver crucifixes.. those were heavy enough to make him struggle. But, he refused to let go of it, being a gentleman of japanese heritage to the core, and carried it to the car, while Sawyer took the significantly lighter clothing trunk and the one with the parts.

While being outside, Rock looked all over the rooftops, yet didn`t spot a single russian. IF they were onto her by now, they were very stealthly about it.

Or, was that little shimmering over there a sniper scope...?

After they intentionally left the light in the room on, they sat down in the car and Rock just drove away, no matter where to, just away from the room in case there really was a spy on that rooftop already.

„Well, going back to the company building is a bad idea, after seeing us drive away in this car, thats the first place they`d be at... Hotels could be ruled by Balalaika without our knowledge..." He went through the options out loud, letting Sawyer hear them in case she came up with something better. But as ususal, he had a bright idea at the right time. „Wait... okay, i got it. Before we do that, just a question... do you trust me?"

Sawyer looked at him, tilting her head. „Whats that supposed to mean?"

„Just a general question. Do you trust me that whatever we do is for your own good?"

„I suppose."

„Are you sure, Sawyer?"

She was quiet for a moment, just looking down.

„Yes."

„Okay then. Trust me, in this situation, thats the safest place we can find right now."

Rock stopped the car out of plain sight, but still nearby, seeing how they would probably need to get away quickly. He took the suitcase that was stored under the back seats, containing guns and ammunition and emptied it out, then went to the trunk to take some of Sawyer`s clothes and stuffed it into the case, along with the prettiest crucifix he could find in the hurry... twenty of them were unnecessary, but if she was that religious, one would be good enough.

„Alright, now lets hurry." He took Sawyer`s hand and rushed towards the front door of the Yellow Flag, which was still brand new from the last time it was obliterated from gunfire.

The bar was full and crowded as ususal, as he had gambled on.. they blended into the mass of people in seconds, leaveing as little of trace of them behind as they could.

Rock held onto her hand tightly, keeping his promise of not letting her go again.. in this mass, a russian agent could probably kidnap her in a second if he wanted to.

He could feel that Sawyer`s hands started to get sweaty and a little shakey... he could only imagine why, probably fear or the stress, but both were solved by him looking back at her, giving her a confident smile. They`d make it this night, that was garunteed.

„Hey, Bao." Rock said, approaching the bar. „You mind giving us a room upstairs?"

„Only if you order something first, and keep that piece of yours holstered." Bao grunted, pointing at the Beretta under his jacket. After so many years in Roanapur, he had gained a sixth sense for trouble.

„You´re killing me. Fine, a Barcadi bottle, as always, then. And do me a favor, turn off the camera in the room, we aren´t going to do 'it' tonight."

A bottle of liquor flew into Rock´s hands, carelessly thrown by the bartender. „On the house... see it as a celebration of my bar actually surviveing two months without being shot to pieces." Bao smirked. „Now whatcha doing with Sawyer?"

„Its a nasty story, Bao. One you`re probably going to hear from everyone else soon, so... try to keep it secret we`re here." Rock opened the bottle and took a sip, looking at him sharply. „Its very important."

„Secret costs extra."

„Fuck you, barkeep." Rock handed him two hundred dollars and grumbled. „Now will you give me the keys?"

A satisfied looking Bao threw him a sticky, rusty key which seemed to have been somewhere else than just a metal keyhole. Rock shuddered unintentionally and took Sawyer`s hand again, pulling her upstairs after giving him a nod.

„We should be as safe as it gets here. Bao is an independant man and he does his best to keep himself neutral in this city, so he should keep it a secret for now." Rock put the suitcase near the bed, then hung his jacket onto a cheap coathanger on the wall. Sawyer quietly sat down on the bed, looking down... at first he ignored it, being busy to close the door, the window and pull the curtains, but then he noticed the given sadness of the girl.

„Whats wrong?" he asked, sitting down next to her.

„This is all my fault and you`re going to die for it. You`re such a nice man, too nice to end up being in pieces and sold in cans."

Rock shuddered again. What the hell was she doing in that cleaning company? „Look, I don´t mind helping you at all. Chang and Balalaika can be really repressive dictators and from time to time, i feel like playing with them.. not to mention that nobody, no matter what he did, should have to feel thier wrath. So, don´t feel bad about it, i`m doing it because i want to. I want to help you, and i want to defeat the regime that rules here."

„You can`t. You´re going to loose." Sawyer said, looking up at him with a sad expression. „He will kill you and she will do worse things than that."

„That might happen." Rock replied, more calm than he normally would be in that situation. „If it does, then i`m sorry i couldn´t protect you till the end. But i`m not going to make it easy for them... i´m going to get you out of this mess, and thats final."

Sawyer fell silent again, stareing at the floor for the next couple of minutes as she experienced that feeling for the first time... she knew it from the times she was with Rotton and Shehuna, but somehow it was different. She was glad that he was with her.

And grateful. Very grateful.

„Thank you, Mister Rock." She said after a long pause, trying her best to form a smile.

End of chapter 2.


	3. Chapter 3

**Chapter three it is. It contains rather soft Hentai. So if you don´t like it, leave while you still can!**

**Everyone else: Please review.**

**And now, enjoy.**

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Two days passed by, and Rock had gotten used to haveing Sawyer around him. She was quiet, yes, but he didn`t mind it. Her body language told much more than her voicebox ever could.. in turn, he never found out much about who she was or had been in the past, but he could tell that she didn´t grow up in any normal way. The odds were, she was just as sick and twisted as Gretel used to be, but unlike her, she preserved some humanity inside.

They rarely left the area of the room they stayed in, always keeping the curtains closed and windows shut. Benny had driven the car back to the company, so they wouldn`t leave that trace behind... but after two days of thinking, Rock still didn´t know what exactly was going on. Balalaika threatened Sawyer with the worst, then did absolutly nothing. It was more than strange to him.

It was hard to get his mind off it, but when he managed to, he looked over to the girl sleeping next to him in a strange, matte black pyjama.. if one could call it that.

The upper half was more of a thick tank top, leaveing her arms bare and some of her clevage exposed, while the bottom was just a simple pair of pants. Of course, it had a symbolic cross on it.

Rock found himself focused on her neck, eyeing down over her arms. The brute scar on her neck was visible even from the back, as if it had been an almost-decapitation, but the rest of her body seemed flawless to say the least. From what he had seen so far, that is.

Deep in thought, he barely noticed how his fingers reached out to trail over the skin of her right arm, his fingertips just barely touching her.. her smooth skin was cooled from being exposed, giving an expression of her being one of the walking dead. Her look certainly was occult enough to fit for a vampire.

Slowly, he trailed over the back of her hand down to her waist, and as if she didn´t notice, she was still and didn´t react to any of it. Rock pulled himself closer to her, sensing a smell of fresh shower gel that wiped off the scent of dead she always had sticking to herself.

He was slowly becomeing aware of what he was doing when his fingers pulled up the top she wore just a little, his fingers caressing her stomatch, circleing her belly button with featherlight stokes until his hand got intervined with Sawyer`s right.

Her voice emulator was lieing next to her on the bedside drawer, so naturally she didn`t say anything to his actions... but when she looked at Rock, close enough for him to feel her cool, quick breaths, he was stunned by the look in her eyes.

They looked needy, desireing and certainly unlike anything he had ever seen her like. So exposed, a single look could hurt her very core. It was undoubtful to him, he was the first to see her like this.

This wasn`t the time for desicions, neither was it the time to think about the concesquences of this. Rock got drew himself closer, then kissed her, softly while her hand clentched his.

Sawyer didn´t resist, she let herself get devoured by his lips as he got his left hand around to gently run through her hair, allowing the kiss to stay as passionate and exciteing as it was without pushing it too far yet.

Slowly, the grip on his right was getting lighter, which he took as a sign that she was ready to move on... his hand pushed her top higher, even higher, until his breathing stopped for a moment as it ran over her perky breasts.

They were only about a C size, but they were in perfect proportion with Sawyer`s petite body.. he didn´t dare to touch her chest yet, even though he desired to. She was just so beautiful.

Sawyer broke the kiss, looking at him needfully as she whispered something unaudiable. She wanted more, that much he could tell from her reaction.

A silent moan escaped her lips as he placed light, cool kisses around her neckline, down her jugular and even on her clevage, before his right finally brought up he courage to stoke her left breast, grasping it softly just to hold her tight for now.

He could feel her getting hotter, and it was just a matter of time before the inner beast in her could be ready to take over, but as for now, he took it slow and tried to get her used to this sensation. Their lips met again, this time Sawyer pressed them against Rock´s, as she found herself stokeing his legs, sometimes playing with his waistband.

He found no words dureing this act, nothing came up in his mind, but then again, words weren´t needed. Love was the only thing Sawyer was in dire need of, and he could give her lots of it.

His tongue finally found a way into her mouth, parting her lips to gain entry, then latching around her own tongue, grinding and danceing against it just as slowly and smoothly as thier bodies contracted.

Rock´s left hand pulled down Sawyer`s pyjama pants while she did the same to his trousers, although she didn´t have the courage for anything else yet, she just imitated his movements to the best of her ability... and enjoyed the feeling of him caressing her strong thighs. She had nicely shaped legs for being so small, he found, plus they were as smooth as satin, just like the rest of her body...

She opened her mouth in a gasp as he finally reached her pelvis, traceing two of his fingers across her entrance.. up, down, and up again, slowly and carefully to make her feel all of it.

Her hot, shivering body and her drentched womanhood told him he could let her off the hook now, but he was yet being careful, lightly tapping her entrance with his shaft, then looking in her eyes, asking her silently for permission. She only kissed him, pushing him inside by force in the meantime.

He could feel her gasping for air inside the kiss, and he could swear a pearl driplet of blood was running down his member, but Sawyer didn´t even twitch. She obviously felt worse things before, this wasn´t shocking her. Slowly and carefully, thier bodies moved against one another, and Rock continued to pound deeper into the little Goth with each of his thrusts.

In the first few minutes of this act, he couldn´t believe he was going this far with Sawyer. But at this point, where he had defiled her and had become one with the girl, he was unable to think. His carnal instincts took over and he slowly became rougher, faster with his movements. She didn´t mind. She succubed to him, moaning silently and gasping, holding one of his hands.

Her fluids coated him, and he could feel the flow of them increaseing, just as he could feel his lust for her growing ever bigger. He needed her, desired her, wanted to have her and never let go of her again.

Finally, his thoughts were anihilated like he was shot in the head as his semen gushed into Sawyer´s womanhood, the girl herself was clawing into the bedsheet and twitching, her eyes rolled back in a state of complete extasy. After that, she turned around to face Rock, then collapsed on his chest... in a mind deafened state, he wrapped his arms around her, getting carried away with the bliss and looseing all sense for time and space in the process.

He was with her, she was close to him, naked, peaceful and satisfied. What else mattered in this world...?

It took almost an hour before he found his way back into reality.

Rock had almost fallen asleep by this point, but his cellphone had other plans. The high pitched signal that a new SMS had arrived brought him back to where he was, and immidiantly he thought that it could only have to do with the current job.

As he opened it, he cursed his luck for being more than just a hundred precent right.

„The tiger works with the panda to kill deer.

34 Tungfa street, make it quick. And make sure you´re not followed.

Sawyer should come as well, if you don´t want her to be caught by the russians."

„What the hell...?" he asked himself quietly, trying to make sense of that. It was cryptic and supriseingly straight forward, someone had either found out something spectacular or it was an amateur trap.

Hotel Moscow didn`t set up those often, so he hoped for the best.. showing Sawyer the phone messege, he got up from the bed to get dressed.

„I guess we have to cuddle some other time... maybe this is our chance to get you out of this mess early." Rock told her, but she didn`t care much for it yet. She only looked at him and smiled, widely.

Thank you, Rock. She thought.

End of chapter 3.


	4. Chapter 4

**A/N: Oh my god. This took forever. Almost done though, this is the second to last chapter. **

**Hope you enjoy it.  
**

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Rock hurried out of bed, put on a pair of pants and a shirt without careing for the tie or even for his boxers. This was serious, any delay in it could mean life or death.

Sawyer kept lieing there for a moment, obviously deep in thought... was he really the man of her dreams, the sparkleing hero that didn´t belong in the deadly realms of Roanapur..? Some said he didn´t. He really wasn´t the kind of guy that would live in a city like this... yet, there were some sinister sides he had. She knew that. She had more than just one herself.

„We´ll have to hurry. I don`t know how long that message is going to stay unnoticed... if it hasn´t been noticed already." He might`ve been considered paranoid by now, but truth to be told, he was worried about Sawyer`s life. The girl he just got so intimate with... suddenly he was pushed right back into the harsh reality.

„You trust this nameless person...?" Sawyer asked, her voice modulator clipped onto her neck again, still ajusting the noise alittle.

„No, but i`ll have to grasp for a straw if i ever want you to get out of here. And this seems to be the only one." Rock replied, now wrapping a tie around his neck afterall. Sawyer wasn´t even halfway dressed so far, so he could take a little more time.

„I have a bad feeling about that too, but if that person knows where we are and even got my number, he or she could kill us anytime anyhow. So, its best to play along."

Sawyer just nodded lightly, looking at him, almost stareing while she was dressing in yet another of her gothic costumes, straight out of a horror movie collection. Right now, Rock found it rather cute, while he normally would be terrified of her very presence.

„Don´t worry, i´ll stay by your side to the end of this, just like i promised."

As quickly as they arrived, they got moveing, jacking a car effortlessly and leaveing for the adress the SMS mentioned. It was only a couple of blocks away, but Rock was shivering deeply. He could feel the eyes watching him from the rooftops. They were there. They were waiting for them. It might be nothing short of a trap.

As he parked the car, the feeling got worse. He could feel them take aim at him, feel the crosshairs lineing up with his cranium.. and with Sawyers.

Sawyer was the one they wanted. They still had use for someone of the Lagoon Company... in this buisness they rarely killed just because of a deal comeing from the other side.

Hesitateingly, he exited the car and went to the back to open the door for Sawyer.. holding her hand, he smiled to her, then pulled her out in one rough maneuver and pushed her behind the car door.

Snipers. He could hear the damp noises, loud as hell, but sounding distant and vague. Silenced sniper rifles... Vintorez VSS. Balalaikas men.

Quickly, he ducked behind the car door as well, pushed Sawyer to the ground and held her there, slowly crawling forward while the bullets pierced the door one by one. One missed his head just lightly, hitting the concrete next to him, another barely missed his leg... one time he could feel the wind hissing by his cheek.

Then, suddenly, a deafeningly loud crack went through the air. For a moment, Rock thought he was dead, but his panic was in vain. Many more of these noises followed... he looked up to the top of the building. A second sniper rifle was peeking out of the curitains, unsilenced flashes illuminateing the area with a loud bang everytime it fired. He was no expert on weapons, but this looked like a professional´s tool as well.

And it was pointed at the russians.

Sawyer looked up to him in confusion, but he was just relieved that someone was finally on thier side. Finally someone who would do this along with him.

He kissed her. Deep and intimately, passionately... he didn´t have much time, the snipers were still aiming for them, but for once he did it like Revy.. he didn´t mind the bullets. The only thing that mattered to Rock was the girl underneath him.

„A ceasefire. They must be reloading... come on!"

Quickly, he got back on foot, but kept his head down as he dragged Sawyer into the building as quickly as he could. His knees were still shakeing, but he paid no mind to it.. this was a game of survival afterall.

„Did they get him...?" Sawyer asked after a while as silence was about. No silencers, no sniper rifle noise.

„...I don´t know." Rock answered honestly. „I´ve seen these guys in action, but they´re no superheroes. They can die if they´re outgunned."

Finally, they arrived at the floor were the weapon was fired from.. none of the doors were open, the apartments all seemed to be locked.

„Strange... one of these must be..."

„Get in here..!"

A strong arm pulled him into one of the rooms, along with Sawyer, and yanked him over to toss him onto a nearby bed. What came straight out of a bad porn movie, was just what Roanapur was like... the bed was filled with empty shell cases.

But this wasn´t the thing Rock was worried about. It was rather the face of extasy Rosarita made as she looked down on him and Sawyer, just before she was grabbing her rifle from the ground and checked for more snipers.

„Good job staying alive so far. The russian woman doesn´t do things halfway."

Rock`s throat felt sore and incredibly dry. „She didn´t attack us until now.. she was only watching us from afar."

„Thats her tactic. You did the first step by comeing to me." Rosarita replied immidiantly, almost robotically. „If you wouldn´t have, she would have had you killed the next night. You can count on that."

„Thanks, i suppose..." Rock started, but a glare from Rosarita suceeded to shut him up.

„Stuff it. They can hear you. Besides, if you wouldn´t have helped the young master in the past, i wouldn´t be here now."

Rock waited a while, before Rosarita put the rifle away again, then he started to ask once more. „So what do you do from here..? Just kill anything that harms us? Thats not going to work for long."

„I´m not as stupid as you think i am." She answered, growling a little. „Balalaika isn´t on the battlefield right now. She expects you to be bushwhacked and killed by the hands of her men... she´s in her villa grande in the city. This is where i will strike her. If she is dead, the rest of her men are just brainless puppets."

„And you expect that you can take Balalaika out just like that?" Rock continued to ask, seeing an oppotunity. „Okay, you´d be able to, i give you that, but what about Chang?"

Rosarita grinned sadistically. „You innocent boy. Two Hands didn´t teach you anything, did she? If Balalaika dies, Chang will be the happiest man alive. His power can extend vastly behind Roanapur and China. The Yakuza, the Mexicans.. anything the Fry Face wiped out dureing the last months can fall into his hands within days. With that said, he will gracefully forgive your girlfriend there that she killed serveral of his men... which was thier doing from the start."

„What..?" Rock asked, widening his eyes. „What do you mean?"

Rosarita huffed. „What exactly have you been doing this whole time? Chang and Fry Face ordered some low class bounty hunters to bring thier own, incompetent men in and let Sawyer cut them to pieces. Then, she could take the blame for it, as it happened to at least five free killers in the last eight days. Balalaika is trying to take over the mercenary operations herself... thats why she´s killing her competition."

Rock gritted his teeth. Thats why. So this is why this all happened to Sawyer. Nothing but another demonstration of Hotel Moscows power. Another try to get even more power. His fists clentched together so tightly they turned white.

„Can i count on you, Roberta...?" He asked, looking at her without a hint of fear.

„...what..?" She replied, pretty suprised by his sudden change of manners. She wasn´t disappointed, there had to be some reason why he wasn`t dead yet.

„Can i count on that you´ll go through this all the way? You aren´t going to quit if it gets too hot?"

Rosarita grinned at him. Her amused grin along with the eyes stareing at him was enough to creep out a zombie.. her face came from out of this world.

„Sure..." She purred, grinning even wider. „What is it?"

„I have a plan how we kill them without too much trouble... but i need you to play along."

End of chapter 4


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